Cooper City commission candidate Howard Seltzer knows from knocking on doors that more than parks, residents want something done about streets and sidewalks. Cooper City has three good candidates in the commission race, but Meltzer's engagement sets him above the rest.

Cooper City commission candidate Howard Seltzer knows from knocking on doors that more than parks, residents want something done about streets and sidewalks. Cooper City has three good candidates in the commission race, but Meltzer's engagement sets him above the rest. (Courtesy)

By most accounts, Cooper City is a great place to start a family, educate children and retire. Located in southwest Broward County, the city of more than 35,000 residents needs some updates. But whether it needs a $12 million bond issue for parks, as proposed on the Nov. 6 ballot, is an issue that divides the city and its three commission candidates.

For the open District 2 seat, voters have a choice of two long-time law enforcement professionals, William “Lenny” Athas and Lisa Conlon Dodge, and a successful small businessman, Howard Meltzer.

Athas, 66, is a former Miami federal prosecutor and Drug Enforcement Administration agent who assisted with the drug trafficking and money laundering case against the late Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega. A Baltimore native, he started his career as a Maryland state trooper and now operates his own law practice, specializing in criminal defense.

“The city is not in terrible shape,” Athas said. “It’s a good place to live.” He says he is running because he wants to apply his lifetime of public service for the benefit of his hometown, where he has lived for 19 years.

Conlon Dodge, 59, spent 25 years in local law enforcement, retiring in 2004 as a sergeant with the Key Biscayne Police Department. While working on the force, she earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in her spare time. She’s taught at schools in Southwest Ranches and Hollywood, and is currently the principal of St. Ambrose Catholic School in Deerfield Beach. She ran for Cooper City mayor in 2008, finishing second to Debra Eisinger in a three-way race. She is the wife of Charles Dodge, longtime city manager of Pembroke Pines. She has far out-raised her opponents, with a little over $39,000 thus far. It’s helped her afford a billboard. “You’ve got to get your name out there.”

Meltzer, 55, is a 1980 graduate of Cooper City High School. Born in New Jersey, his family moved to the city 40 years ago. He spent a number of years away, but returned roughly six years ago and became engaged in the community. He runs a foliage firm he founded more than a decade ago.

Meltzer said he has attended two-thirds of the city commission meetings in the last five years. He also has served on the city’s senior citizens advisory board, the charter review board and the planning and zoning board. He’s also helped a group catalog the city’s artifacts dating back to 1959, the year Cooper City was founded. The goal, he says, is to establish a museum some day.

Aside from electing a new commissioner, voters also must decide whether to green-light a $12 million bond issue to refurbish the city’s parks and recreation sites.

The issue got a strong thumbs-down from a random sampling of 412 registered voters in July. In a poll paid for by the city, 66 percent of respondents said they would not vote to back the referendum. When questioned about which facilities they used, strong majorities said they had not availed themselves of the baseball, football, softball, soccer, sand volleyball and playground venues.

Nonetheless, the city plunged ahead with the referendum, serving up a long wish list of improvements for the Cooper City Sports Complex and Bill Lips Park.

“To keep our parks nice, we have to spend some money,” Conlon Dodge said. She’s not in “total agreement with how they have budgeted” the money, saying “the specs inside need to be reexamined.” A cover for a basketball court, for example, came in at $858,000. “I’m a principal of the school down the street; I priced it at $375,000.” Artificial turf is another chunk of the proposed spending, as well as fields for baseball and soccer, a concession stand and more restrooms.

Athas advised checking with neighboring cities to research the maintenance requirements and lifespan of artificial turf. “Let’s slow down,” he said, to avoid “rushing into a very big bill that we don’t really need.”

Meltzer said the city needs to reset its spending priorities. He prefers to defer the parks spending. From knocking on doors, he knows residents would prefer that streets and sidewalks be repaired first.

“I’m not saying these issues don’t need to be addressed,” he said of the parks. “But I don’t think we need to do it right now.

Athas is equally cautious about spending. As a former DEA agent and federal prosecutor, voters would get a drill-down guy who digs for the facts. But he hasn't been involved in city matters as broadly as Meltzer and Conlon Dodge, who knows how to run a complex organization via her experience as a school principal. As for the bond issue, she says she would follow whatever direction the voters dictate, but she will vote for the referendum because parks and recreation should be centerpieces of city services.

Citizens can’t go wrong with any of these candidates. All are dedicated to the city. And each agrees the soon-to-expire pubic safety contract with the Broward Sheriff’s Office should be renewed, with a close eye on the cost.

On balance, our recommendation is Meltzer. He has devoted a significant amount of time to city matters over the last five years. And he has the best ground-level understanding of what constituents want, which includes a tighter rein on finances and a reassessment of the city’s spending priorities.